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Parkman's work regarding nationality, race, and especially Native Americans have generated criticism.C. Vann Woodwardwrote that Parkman permitted his bias to control his judgment, drawing a distinction between Indian "savagery" and settler "civilization", for Parkman found the Indian practice ofscalpingexecrable, and made sure to underscore his aversion. However, the historical significance of his work cannot be denied.

Parkman is one of the most notable nationalist historians. In recognition of his talent and accomplishments, the Society for American Historians annually awards theFrancis Parkman Prizefor the best book on American history. His work has been praised by historians who have published essays in new editions of his work by such Pulitzer Prize winners asC. Vann Woodward,Allan Nevins, andSamuel Eliot Morisonas well as by other notable historians including Wilbur R. Jacobs,John Keegan, William Taylor,Mark Van Doren, andDavid Levin. Famous artists such asThomas Hart BentonandFrederic Remingtonhave illustrated Parkman's books. Numerous translations have been published worldwide.

The Oregon Trail is a 2,200-mile (3,500 km) historic east-west large wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of the future state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the future states of Idaho and Oregon.

The Oregon Trail is a 2,200-mile (3,500 km) historic east-west large wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of the future state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the future states of Idaho and Oregon.

There are some outdated, what we today would consider racist; attitudes in this book. Francis Parkman was a product of his time and it is good that we acknowledge this was how it was so that we don't repeat these attitudes. Parkman actually spent a number of weeks living with theSiouxtribe, at a time when they were struggling with some of the effects of contact withEuropeans, such as epidemic disease and alcoholism. This experience led Parkman to write aboutAmerican Indianswith a much different tone from earlier, more sympathetic portrayals represented by the "noble savage" stereotype. Writing in the era ofManifest Destiny, Parkman believed that the conquest and displacement of American Indians represented progress, a triumph of "civilization" over "savagery", a common view at the time.

Francis Parkman's family was somewhat appalled at his choice of life work, since at the time writing histories of the American wilderness was considered ungentlemanly. Serious historians would study ancient history, or after the fashion of the time, the Spanish Empire. But Parkman's works became so well-received that by the end of his lifetime, histories of early America had become the fashion.Theodore Rooseveltdedicated his four-volume history of the frontier,The Winning of the West(1889–1896), to Parkman.

Francis Parkman enrolled atHarvard Collegeat age 16! In his second year he conceived the plan that would become his life's work- writing a history of forests. In 1843, at the age of 20, he traveled to Europe for eight months in the fashion of theGrand Tour. Parkman made expeditions through theAlpsand theApennine mountains, climbedVesuvius, and even lived for a time in Rome. Upon graduation in 1844, he was persuaded to get a law degree, his father hoping such study would rid Parkman of his desire to write his history of the forests. It did no such thing, and after finishing law school Parkman proceeded to fulfill his great plan.

As a young boy, "Frank" Parkman was found to be of poor health, and was sent to live with his maternal grandfather, who owned a 3,000-acre tract of wilderness in nearbyMedford, Massachusetts, in the hopes that a more rustic lifestyle would make him more sturdy. In the four years he stayed there, Parkman developed his love of the forests, which would animate his historical research. Indeed, he would later summarize his books as "the history of the American forest." He learned how to sleep and hunt, and could survive in the wilderness like a true pioneer. He later even learned to ride bareback, a skill that would come in handy when he found himself living with theSioux.

"The Oregon Trailappeared in 1849, and with its publication Parkman was launched upon his career as a storyteller without peer in American letters. ... It is the picturesqueness, the racy vigor, the poetic elegance, the youthful excitement, that giveThe Oregon Trailits enduring appeal, recreating for us, as perhaps does no other book in our literature, the wonder and beauty of life in a new world that is now old and but a memory." -Herman Melville

The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life(also published asThe California & Oregon Trail) is a book written byFrancis Parkman. It was originally serialized in twenty-one installments inKnickerbocker's Magazine(1847–49) and subsequently published as a book in 1849. The book is a breezy, first-person account of a 2-month summer tour in 1846 of theU.S. statesofNebraska,Wyoming,Colorado, andKansas. Parkman was 23 at the time. The heart of the book covers the three weeks Parkman spent huntingbuffalowith a band ofOglala Sioux.

Who is Francis Parkman? The author of The Oregon Trail who was fascinated by Indians! Some of the stuff in this book is not politically correct, but that's OK, John explains it so the kids will understand. Regardless of the language, this is a fascinating look at the frontier of North America!

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